Poland-Lithuania

Poland-Lithuania, formally the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, was a confederation that ruled Poland and Lithuania under personal union from 1569 to 1795. Poland and Lithuania had been under personal union under the House of Jagiellon since 1386, and the Union of Lublin in July 1569 led to the consolidation of Poland and Lithuania into a single kingdom. The nation would be a large, multiethnic society with a population of 11,000,000 people by the early 17th century, and the constitutional monarchy ensured religious freedom in much of the country.

In 1717, the Russian Empire began to exert its influence over Poland-Lithuania, which began to lose its independence as Russia intervened more and more in the commonwealth's affairs. The Bar Confederation uprising against the Russian-dominated government was put down by Russian troops, and the First Partition of Poland began in 1772 as Russia, Prussia, and the Austrian Empire partitioned the country. In 1793, Poland was once more partitioned after the Russian Empire assisted anti-constitution rebels against the Polish-Lithuanian government, and Poland was finally partitioned in 1795 after Tadeusz Kosciuszko's failed uprising against Russia. Poland-Lithuania ceased to be an independent nation after this occupation.